Reuters
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Swedish right-wing government strengthened gun laws on Friday in the wake of the country’s most lethal mass shooting at an adult education centre where attackers appear to be using some of their licensed rifles. He said he was about to try.
Ten people were shot dead at Orebro’s Campus Lisburg Sca School on Tuesday. It was then believed that the man was the perpetrator – by Reuters sources and Swedish media, 35-year-old Swedish Recrux, Rickard Anderson, turned his weapon over himself. .
Police said Friday that the suspected shooter was a 35-year-old man and did not disclose his name, but that he has completed all victim identity verification.
Seven women and four men ages 28 to 68 were killed in Tuesday’s attack, including the suspect, police said in a statement.
Among the victims were several Christians who had escaped persecution in Syria. Police say so far have not found evidence of ideological motives.
Prime Minister Wolf Christerson said the event sparked a sense of fear and vulnerability among many people from Swedish immigrant backgrounds, and that everyone “spinned everything we cherish and at the back.” I’ll stand up.”
“My idea is that you are a relative who has received the worst call now. I want to say to you: You are not alone. We are standing by your side. ” he said in a social media post Friday evening.
The government has agreed to parliament’s far-right supporters to step up the review process for people applying for gun licences and tighten up some semi-automatic weapons.
The AR-15, an attack rifle based on military design that has been used in many mass shootings in the United States, said it is a banned gun-like gun.
“In light of the horrifying shootings at Orebro earlier this week, I believe the right balance is to roll back regulations and ban those kinds of weapons,” Justice Minister Gunner Stromer told Reuters.
He said it is not yet clear what guns were being used in the attacks at Orebro, and banning AR-15 weapons would be a “precaution.”
“We also know that such weapons with some changes can be very dangerous and are used in such gunfires in other countries,” he said. I said that.
The AR-15 rifle has been permitted for hunting since 2023, and Strommer says that around 3,500 people have been licensed since.
The Social Democrats, the main Swedish opposition, welcomed the move, but sought a wider vet and control. “It’s around February 4th,” Social Democrat Rep. Teresa Carvalho said at a press conference.
Police have not specified what weapons were used in the attack. It says that only three rifles approved by a suspicious killer have been found near his body. Local media reports that he has a hunting license.
The attack also raised questions about whether Swedish schools need to be better secure. Unlike many other countries, schools are generally considered semi-public spaces, with rare control over who can come and go.
The government is considering speeding up legislation already passed through parliament, which makes it easier for schools to install surveillance cameras, Justice Minister Gunnarstromer told Swedish media on Thursday.
Sweden has a high level of gun ownership by European standards, but is much lower than the US. While most weapons are legally held for hunting, a wave of gang crime highlights the high incidence of illegal handguns.
Figures for 2017 by Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based research institute, showed that there are around 2.3 million civilian guns in Sweden. That’s about 23 guns per 100 people compared to 120 in the US and 4.6 in the UK.
The attack has led to Sweden mourning and police are still trying to determine their motives. They look into information that he was a student at the school at one point.
